Are you just picked off a list or are they targeting certain people by their names? You can certainly predict a few person's demographics just by their names.
I'd imagine there are some factors. Like you want people who will be competent for that type of case. Ex: if it involves technology you want someone that knows about that technology. There's probably other factors like conflict of interest. They probably won't pick a relative or friend or coworker of the person the case is for.
Actually, no. In the USA they're shooting for truly stupid and ill-informed and they don't want people familiar with the case. To judge whether a doctor was negligent is WAY beyond the knowledge of a jury, it should be handled by medical professionals. But in a wrongful death suit medical professionals are the one class that cannot be allowed on a jury..
Getting picked to go through voir dire is totally random in all jurisdictions AFAIK. You're on a list based on voting, property ownership, job history, taxes paid or whatever combination gets used by your courts. If you get randomly picked you show up to court with a buttload of other people and from that pool of jurors you're also randomly selected to go through voir dire. You might not get selected at all and spend your entire day in the jury room twiddling your thumbs.
If you get picked for voir dire in a trial it's no longer random. The judge will disqualify anyone TOO qualified (like a doctor on a medical case) and the lawyers are questioning people to try to find jurors likely to side with them while hoping they're not so obviously biased that they get kicked out by the judge or other lawyer.
I've been called probably about 5 times total. Of those times I only had to go into the courthouse twice, other times I was randomly excused because they didn't need jurors that day. Of the twice I showed up once I sat in the jury room for about 3 hours. Didn't get picked for voir dire and was excused before noon as they were not going to empanel any more people that day. The other time I did go through voir dire and got put on what looked to be a juicy trial. It was a manslaughter case with drugs involved and a possible love triangle jealosy motive. I was happy to get that trial and was looking forward to doing it. Then there was a procedural delay that was going to postpone the trial for six months. So the Friday before we were supposed to start all the jurors were excused as they had to pick a new jury when it eventually got going.
Huh? So what is it? I'm talking about when your group goes through the whole process up to going inside the court room. They call up people to go sit in the jury box to be further questioned. So are the people who get picked truly random individuals or are there some basic information available besides your name that may influence you being picked over others?
Interesting, I would have figured they would want someone who will know enough about the case to be able to make a better judgment call. Like for a medical malpractice you'd think they'd want doctors and nurses from other hospitals (to avoid conflict of interest) on the jury as they will be able to understand better the situation.
Common sense says that many things, especially cases like medical malpractice or engineering failures, might have details that are far too complicated for the layperson to understand. Who better to decide if a doctor failed than another doctor or if a building that collapsed was due to faulty construction, substandard materials or bad architecture and engineering? But that opens the door to collusion and favoritism. Like cops don't arrest other cops, doctors might not want to point the finger at other doctors. So the American jury system is based on ignorance. If you care about the outcome or know something about the case you're out. The only way to get on a jury is to be stupid and apathetic.
USA!! USA!! USA!!
I'd imagine there are some factors. Like you want people who will be competent for that type of case. Ex: if it involves technology you want someone that knows about that technology.
Jury duty selection isn't random.
Do I have proof? No. But I hang around with a couple of guys who are higher ups at what is by far the largest company in the town where I live and a few years ago the subject came up. I was whining about the fact that I had been called twice in 6-7 years and they just laughed.
Nobody in their "circle" has ever been called since they got their jobs and moved to town. The implication is obviously that their company arranges for higher level employees not to be called.
Don't know. If I remember, I'll make a call Monday.Why would it be based on DL? Do local and county courts have full access to the state's DL database? I would think they would do it based on residents within their jurisdiction. In Georgia that would be car tag, for instance.
Don't know. If I remember, I'll make a call Monday.
I thought it was voter registration
Ah yes to be judged by 12 people that couldn't get out of jury duty.
Mention "jury nullification" and you won't be selected.Last I remember, it was DAMN tough to get out of jury duty.
I saw a woman who's father, brother, husband, and son were cops. So she said that she would side with cops every time. They kept her.
I saw a man who's father was killed by a robber. So he said that he'd be extremely biased towards the criminal being guilty. They kept him.
I was freaking out because it was a two week trial. My income loss would have hurt a lot.